hantsweb

Hampshire's local pages

Rooksdown

Rooksdown is a civil parish in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. The parish was formed on April 1, 2004. It covers a small estate in the north-west of Basingstoke on land within and adjacent to the former Park Prewett hospital. The local housing development took the name Park Village, and was originally part of the Parish of Sherborne St John. The name Park Village is still used by local estate agents.

Local amenities include a doctor's surgery, pharmacy, golf club and mobile library. There is a regular bus service to various locations around Basingstoke and also an hourly bus to Newbury.

A growing parish

Outline planning permission was granted in May 1997 for a mixed-use development of approximately 1,250 dwellings, shop and a community centre at Rooksdown. The hospital complex is currently being re-developed as a core area for the Rooksdown development to provide community facilities. The clock tower, water tower, main hall, six fan buildings and the four garden pavilions are all to be retained. The existing gardens are also to be retained as open spaces.

English Partnerships acquired the site in April 2005 and secured detailed planning consent for 1,021 homes. A number of these are intended to be affordable homes. The main area for 854 homes (including 156 affordable homes) was purchased by Taylor Woodrow and the smaller area for 137 affordable homes was purchased by Persimmon Homes. The company was selected after a Design for Manufacture competition to build homes at a cost of £60,000 to encourage efficiency and innovation.

Further information

Further information on attractions to discover in the area and other interesting villages to visit is available. For information on public services for Rooksdown please take a look at the Basingstoke local pages.